1. Who is your celebrity crush?2. Which of you have girlfriends?3. Who came up with the name One Direction?4. Anything “X Factor”-related5. Worst habits about each other6. Do you guys fight?7. Best prank someone pulled on you8. Describe each other in one word9. Funniest fan stories10. If not in the band, what would you be doing?11. Pre-show rituals12. No questions about money or religion

Our series of NASCAR driver interviews continues with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne, who is in his second year driving for the team. Kahne is seventh in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading to Martinsville Speedway.

Q: From what you’ve seen — and I know you don’t have telemetry data on everyone — whose driving style is the most similar to yours?

A: It’s hard to say unless you’re teammates with everyone over the years. But as far as teammates go that I’ve been able to work with, I feel like it’s Jimmie (Johnson). A lot of the things I say (about the car), I hear him say. Or he’ll say something and I pick up on it and it makes a lot of sense to me. Other times, I don’t pick up on that with other guys.

I know he’s young, but just watching (Nationwide Series rookie) Kyle Larson so far, you see him searching on the racetrack a lot for grip or lines. I’ve always done a lot of that, and I don’t feel like I see that with a ton of people as much as I’ve seen it with him. He’s only a few races in, but I actually understand what he’s doing, watching his races so far. As young as he is, it makes a lot of sense to me.

I watch other guys sometimes and what they’re doing doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Not that it’s wrong, but I just look at things differently. Maybe it’s because of our backgrounds — Midgets and Sprint cars and things — but I think me and (Larson) are similar in some ways.

Q: Wow, well that’s a pretty good sign for him.

A: Or a good sign for me!

Q: Do you collect any of your own memorabilia? Firesuits, helmets, diecasts, things like that?

A: I like saving helmets and firesuits. I have some old diecasts put away, but I like looking at old helmets and suits. At (Kasey Kahne Racing), we have just rows of suits and helmets I’ve been able to save over the years.

When I drove for Ray (Evernham), he always got a helmet, so I’d try to basically steal one every once in awhile. So I don’t have as many helmets as I’ve worn over the years, but I have a good amount and some pretty cool ones.

Kasey Kahne won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17, 2013.(Photo: Wade Payne, AP)

Q: What percent of success in NASCAR is car, what percent is driver and what percent is luck?

A: I feel like if you don’t have a good car, you can’t win at this level. There’s just no way you can, because the other guys have good cars. The car is such a huge part of it, luck is a small part of it and I think the driver is more about the communication — getting the car to where it’s the best car, working with the crew chief.

In the race, I would say it’s 70% car, 20% driver, 10% luck — but when you look at practice, driver/crew chief is like 50-50 and that’s what makes your car. Then when you get in the race, it’s all about your car.

Q: What person outside of your family has done the most for your career?

A: That’s actually a really tough question. I’d have to say Steve Lewis. I raced his Midgets, and once I started racing for him, that’s what opened the door with Richard Childress calling me, Ford Racing getting behind me, Ray Evernham eventually talking to me. But it all started with Steve Lewis.

Before that, I was racing for my dad and doing everything we could to that point. But once Steve Lewis put me in his car, he was kind of the guy that basically opened a lot of other doors.

Q: You come into contact with so many people during a race weekend — your team, sponsors, media, fans — and they all want a piece of your time. How do you decide what time to devote to each of those people?

A: I’d say Lisa (Hemphill, Kahne’s manager) helps me a lot with that, just trying to make sure you don’t miss anything, but also letting me do some of the things I enjoy and want to do. Lisa helps me the most with that.

It’s figuring out when and where and who and how it all works. I used to get really worn out. By the end of the year, all I wanted to be done with racing for like two months. Then after two weeks, I’d want to be back in the car.

But since Lisa has been doing a lot with me (starting in 2010), I’d say now when the year is over I wish we were still racing. You just want to keep racing and we don’t.

I’d say that has a lot to do with Hendrick Motorsports as well, but I think Lisa has done a really nice job of kind of putting a lot of that stuff in perspective and getting the right timing, and that’s helped the entire season.

Q: Fans often ask drivers if they remember them from an autograph session a few years ago, so it’s clear they want to be remembered. If a fan really wants to be remembered by you, what is something they could do to stand out?

A: Say that happens 10 times? I remember probably four or five. They’ll be like, “Oh, you don’t remember me.” Well, actually I really do. I’ve signed dogs and done this and that, and I couldn’t tell you who that person was. There’s not always time to sit there and talk to someone.

But to me, when you actually do have time to sit and talk, whether it’s a kid, a lady, a man, whoever it may be, you just hit on something — where they live, something to do with racing, something family-wise. That’s when I remember the most.

I actually do remember though. Two or three years later, I’ll be like, “Yeah, I remember you.”

Q: The last guy you wrecked, did you do it on purpose?

A: Who was it? I just don’t really remember wrecking anyone lately. I haven’t been in the middle of much.

The last one I remember was Indianapolis (in 2007). Tony Raines pretty much wrecked me getting into the corner, so I just turned right – because I was already crashing. When his car disappeared, the wall was next. I plowed the wall harder than I was going to hit it – but I got us both.

I had to go to the NASCAR trailer for that one (laughs). That was two down.

Q: Who is someone you used to clash with, but now you get along with them just fine?

A: AJ Allmendinger.

Q: Really? You guys are better now?

A: When we first met, we were good. Liked each other, talked, whatever. Then when we were racing together as teammates, it kind of all went bad.

Over the last year, it seemed like it got better. Now, actually when I see him, I’m like, “What’s up? How are you doing?” And he’s the same.

There were other times before when he was like, “What’s up?” to me and I’d walk on. Didn’t want anything to do with him. And then it was the same the other way. I’d be like, “What’s up?” to him and he’d basically blow me off.

So I’d say we started good, went to bad and it seems like we’re back to good.

Q: What’s the best racing-related movie?

A: Six Pack.

Q: Wow, you’re the first person to say that this year.

A: Among the racing movies, that’s the one I like the most. That’s the one where they’re racing dirt, right? With the kids? They start working on the cars. They steal the guy’s motor and they try to make another guy not run.

Q: What’s your song of the moment right now?

A: I like some stuff by Imagine Dragons. Hang on. (Runs to get phone) Here you go:On Top of the World, It’s Time, Demons, Radioactive. Those are my last four downloads. (Plays songs to sample for interviewer)

Q: Define yourself without NASCAR. Who are you as a person?

A: I’m just kind of a pretty relaxed person who wants to have fun — whether it’s with friends, family, hanging out with a girl and watching a movie. Whatever it may be, I enjoy relaxing.

Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Brian Scott, and he said Jimmie Johnson told him you beat him in triathlons strictly due to your natural running ability — and that Jimmie whoops you on the bike and in the swimming portion. Brian wanted to know whether that was true.

A: Jimmie’s version is definitely right, and I understand that’s my only shot to beat him, so I work hard at being better than I already am at running so I can catch back up. I’m usually behind, and then I catch back up late.

Q: And do you have a question for the next person? It’s scheduled to be Kyle Busch.

A: What is your favorite part about being a NASCAR team owner?

*****

KASEY KAHNE’S THREE FAVORITE APPS

ScoreMobile: It’s a big scoreboard for all sports. You can keep track of everything – records, stats, everything.

Race Monitor: I watch our World of Outlaws Sprint cars. You watch every lap time for the whole field, qualifying, best lap, how far each guy is behind. It has a bunch of other racing on there, too.

Strava Run: I like that a lot. It basically shows you the map, where you went, how long it took, what your best mile was, what your pace is, your hills, everything. It’ll tell you if you broke your 5K record, 10K, whatever it may be.

The folks over at 12 Questions ask some hard hitters, and we did our best to give them the juiciest answers. Check out the post to see what we’ve been reading, what we’re listening too, and Matsu’s take on the existential weight of subjective reality.

Rule 1: Always post the rules.Rule 2: Answer the questions the person who tagged you asked and write 12 new ones.Rule 3: Tag 12 new people and link them to the post.Rule 4: Let them know you’ve tagged them.

1. What are five movies I should see?

Immortal Beloved, Grace of My Heart, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre (the most recent version), and Notorious

2. What are five bands/songs/musicians I should listen to?

This is almost impossible for me to pick. I mean, what do you like? Give me some parameters here. I have thousands of CDs. Oh well, here goes: Father John Misty, The Magic Numbers, The National, Rufus Wainwright, and Neko Case

3. What are five fanfics I should read? (Rizzoli and Isles only, please.)

You’ll probably get a lot of overlapping suggestions of stuff you might’ve already read, but here’s hoping there’s something you’ve missed: Morphology of Snow (ArcadiaArden), Of Arias and High Sticking (crackinois), Inescapable (goldflecks), It’s Complicated (socks-lost), and everything by snuffnyc, colormetheworld, jobethdalloway, and ThePriceIsMeg. I cheated at the end there, but I couldn’t pick!

Maybe Maura. I identify with her social awkwardness and insecurities, but definitely not her love of fashion. I’m with Jane on that one. Hoodies and jeans are more my speed. Plus, I could probably eat a burger every day.

6. What are you doing on June 25?

C'mon, you know the answer to this one. Rizzles is back!

7. Can you sing? On a scale of Sasha Alexander to Eva Cassidy, how well can you carry a tune? (If you haven’t heard of Eva Cassidy, please listen to a sample before answering.)

I can sing, but I’m usually too shy to do so in front of people. I do love it though.

8. What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? (If you’ve never had a car, say why not, and how you feel about that.)

It was a 1994 Nissan Sentra and I was 17.

9. What’s more important: pampering yourself on occasion or saving for a rainy day?

Probably saving for a rainy day, but I do like to treat myself when I can.

10. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and for how long?

I’d travel more in Europe, particularly Spain and Italy. For a few months if possible.

11. What will you absolutely never eat, and why?

I don’t have super high tolerance for heat. I love spices in food, but if it’s too hot, I can’t do it.

12. What time do you usually go to sleep?

Usually somewhere around 11:30.

Questions

1. Favorite underrated song/album by well known artist/band?

2. Is the city you live in now where you want to stay?

3. Favorite show that’s not currently on the air?

4. Favorite childhood book?

5. Do you like your fanfics epic and long or shorter and to the point?

6. Favorite go-to snack food?

7. If you’re a pet person, are you a Jane or a Maura?

8. Last movie you saw in the theater?

9. Last concert attended?

10. Any catchphrases or expressions that you use all the time?

11. If you had to cast yourself as a character from Harry Potter, who would you be and why? If you haven’t read/watched HP, WHY NOT?

(Just cuz I had to ask the question - please answer the 12 new questions I posted at the bottom and tag me in so I know you have answered them, thanks :D)

1. What book would you like to give to your child (or niece or nephew or friend’s child) to read?

It would depend on their age but my favourite book when I was very young was Peace At Last, about a daddy bear who can’t sleep because of all the noises in the house. As a teenager I would give someone High Fidelity by Nick Hornby because it is still my favourite book and is basically about how music saves your soul.

2. What song would you like to have covered and by what band?

Hmm tough one. Ooh maybe Don’t Speak by No Doubt…covered by Mars because their covers are always great, it would need to be kept really stripped back though.

3. You can excel in one type of dancing - what type would you choose?

Latin American - I used to do this and it’s so expressive and passionate.

4. What part would you like to see your favorite actor or actress play?

I think my favourite actors, male and female have generally become my favourite because of their characters so I don’t know if I could think of something new for them. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence in an independent film, or Mark Ruffalo playing a bad guy.

5. Who was/is your favorite teacher and why?

I had a teacher at college called Maxine who taught English Lit. At first I thought she was a crazy witch cat lady and then I came to realise that she was an AWESOME crazy witch cat lady who put purple streaks in her long purple hair, preferred plants to people and once said “when I was a teenager other people’s parents worried about the drinking and taking drugs. Mine were worried about their teenage daughter locking herself in her room to recite poetry loudly to herself”!

6. Where would you like to live and what would you like to be doing ten years from now?

I’d really really love to live in New York and I’d like to see what it would be like to live in California. I have no idea what I’d like to be doing in 10 years. I’ll be 40. I don’t want to think about it. You can’t make me!

7. Which of your relatives are you most similar to?

Looks - my nan

Temper/sarcasm - my mom

Humour - my dad

8. What is your favorite flavor of popsicle/ice lolly?

Cola or “blue”

9. Which Olympic Event is your favorite? I really enjoyed all of the athletics last time round. At the Winter Olympics it’s figure skating.

10. You have to change your name to the name of a character in one of your favorite fandoms. What would you change it to? Willow - the original and best

11. What is the saddest episode of any TV series that you have ever seen? - Buffy stabs Angel to close the hell mouth just as he gets his soul back

- Peyton finally finds her real mom and then she dies

- Marissa gets run off the road and Ryan carries her lifeless body like he did in Tijuana

- the end of the most recent season of TVD!

- “where’s Wallace, Avon? Where’s Wallace?!”

12. Do you like to receive gifts or would you prefer to receive money and buy your own gifts?

I love to receive gifts :) any little thing that showed that someone was thinking about me!

My 12 questions:

1. What is your favourite animated movie?

2. If you could be a successful musician/artist/actor/writer, which would you be?

3. How do you feel about wrapping gifts?

4. Which fictional character do you think you are most like?

5. Which fictional character do you *wish* you were most like?

6. What three words do you think other people would use to describe you?

My friend Edera was here, my friend Byronic was here, my friend Dronio was here… so I got here. Funny thing is, they are not in the fandom part of tumblr, they post once in a while and they are the kind of blogger that usually looks at my kind of blogger with a serious side eye!

3. What is your ideal career?

Ideal? Acting and writing at the same time… Those are the two things would never get tired of or bored. I wanted to be an actress since I was a kid, and I wanted to publish my stories since I was able to write them. One part of the plan failed miserably, let’s see if I can salvage the other.

4. Favorite ship/OTP and why?

Oh… I have problems defining favorite, here. I will say that it’s Snamione, and here’s why: Severus and Hermione are not Canon, they will never be and nobody ever said they were. It’s a beautiful, compelling relationship to write and read, it leads to great fanfiction and the people who ship it are mostly mature enough that we just have fun together, with little drama and little complications.Yes. I know there has been drama. Nope. I’m not talking about dark times. All is Snamione and nothing hurts. Even the MLC is fine.

5. If money wasn’t a limitation where would you travel and why?

Everywhere! Right now I would just like to pack a light bag and just… go. I want to see parts of the world I’ve never seen, eat in places I’ve read about, swim in seas and rivers, watch a different night sky, drive for days singing along with a mix cd, that kind of thing.Places… I want to see America, all of it, north to south and west to east. Visit relatives in Boston, Ros in San Francisco, get lost, see Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Disneyland, New Orleans, all of it! Okey, that wouldn’t take much at all…Or, given the chance and the money, New Zeland.And the Sahara desert.And China.And…

6. Most loathed fictional character and why? (From a book you like, but hate the character, just to be clear)

Is Joffrey Baratheon to obvious a choice?

7. Fluff or angst?

I have to say angst. I like fluff, from time to time, when I’m in the mood, but angst? Gimme angst any time!

8. Do you like hearing from your followers?

I love it! It doesn’t happen often, unfortunately… It’s kinda creepy actually. There are 317 (fuck… I lost two!) silent people out there, looking at my blog and saying nothing. Are you ok? Are you alive? Can i get you anything to drink?

9. Do you know what Holmestuck is? (not just a vague awareness like me, but actually understand the nuances of it? I’m curious.)

NO! No! I still don’t know what Homestuck is! I know it’s sort of a… comic? But where? And how? And why it has such a huge fandom? And who’s behind it?

10. Do you have any pets?

Circe, my cat, she’s been with me since last year (August, so it’s almost one year exactly) and she is 10 years old. She comes from the animal shelter, she bites a lot and has epileptic episodes and she is also one of the most beautiful little evil creatures I’ve ever seen. She has adopted me and she bosses me around.

11. Favorite color to wear and overall favorite color?

Black, to wear, and deep red overall. Like the red of wine, ruby with purple hints.

12. What is your ideal mate like?

Oh, who the hell knows? Probably someone different enough from me to be complementary, but similar enough to share my passions. So, someone strong willed, alpha enough, crazy as hell, creative and practical, someone who is a dreamer but knows his way around an engine (after 34 years, I’m so fucking done with manchild-types, sooo cute but unlikely to survive one minute alone—aRGH!), someone who takes my side and likes to fight with me, someone who understands that sometimes you need to be left alone and to leave each other alone. Possibly green-blue-grey eyed. Devastatingly handsome, of course, and available. Oh, yes, and imaginary.

As for my new questions… Mpf, can I think about it? Last time I did this nobody answered - or almost nobody - and there were just 11 questions!

Actually…Can I recycle those 11 questions? I liked them!

1 - If you had to run away right now and could bring with you only three things, what would you choose?

2 - You have the opportunity to spend 24 hours with a celebrity: actor, actress, politician, writer, musician, your choice. Who would you choose and what would you like to do?

3 - What is the first thing you remember, the very first memory of your childhood?

4 - If you could live in a fictional world, any world from a book, a movie, a game which one would you choose?

5 - How many books do you own, approximately?

6 - Are you a writer? If yes, what is your favourite work, the one that you would like to let everybody read, if possible?

7 - Assuming that you do, which foreign cuisine do you like most?

8 - What is the farthest place from home you’ve ever been?

9 - Is there something that is usually scary for everyone but doesn’t scare you so much?

10 - Suppose you become famous, but not small deal: Hollywood famous, White House famous, that kind of fame, would you cancel your tumblr? And what would you do with all the traces you left on the internet so far?

11 - What’s your guilty pleasure book, the one you hardly admit to read, but you would never give away?

12 - Put your iTunes on shuffle and tell a story about the first song: something that comes to mind when you listen to it, something that happened to you and it’s connected somehow.

Rules 2: Answer the questions the person who tagged you asked and write 12 new ones.

Rule 3: Tag 12 new people and link them to the post.

Rule 4: Let me know you’ve tagged them.

1. How many speeding tickets have you had?Just one. What I learned from this is that you shouldn’t go see Cloverfield on opening night, because you’ll end up in the fourth row from the front and get very sick from the damn camera shaking. (I didn’t notice how fast I was going because lol trying to make it home before sick again)

2. Tea or coffee?I like tea a lot…I just don’t get to drink it often.

3. What would you name your first born?Mmm, depends. I like Leona and Elena for a girl; boy names are harder, but maybe something like Donovan or Alastor or idk something.

4. What two weapons would you carry around during a zombie outbreak?Machete and a rifle of some kind, preferably a bolt-action sniper. A katana would be acceptable as well, but machetes can do actual work like cutting through brush and so on - Japanese blades were primarily designed to slice through flesh.

5. If you were a Jedi, what color lightsaber would you have?Probably green, although it’s always bugged me that the color palette is so limited with lightsabers; blue, green, red, amethyst, topaz, and that’s about it. Bluh. Darth Maul was rocking that dual-bladed saber though jfc

6. Favorite kind of dinosaur? Oooooh, this one’s hard. I used to really love stegosaurs, but then I moved on to allosaurus, and THEN I changed to pachyencephalosaurus, and after THAT velociraptors, but hey ankylosaurus was pretty cool too. And then dilophosaurus…idk. I’m gonna say stegosaurus because it was my first favorite.

7. Are you happy with your height?Eh. I feel short a lot. I would love to be just three inches taller (for an even six feet), but I’m okay with my height, I s'pose.

8. Do you think you have an accent?I’d like to hope not, but…probably a little.

9. What is one major city you’d love to go visit?CANNOT CHOOSE ONE. Tokyo, London, Rio (sssssort of I have issues with Brazil because reasons), Los Angeles, New York, Sidney, Moscow, Athens, the list goes oooooon…

10. Favorite costume you’ve worn.SPIDER-MAN

11. What does your favorite shirt look like?Black, with a glasses-wearing lion on it :D

But I’m going to pick the one that is most immediately relevant to my tumblr, from Devil May Cry.

Mundus: Again I must face a Sparda…strange fate, isn’t it?Dante: Strange, and ironic that it will end the same way!

12 NEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU

1. What is your favorite character from the last book you read?2. Where would you prefer to go in the event of a zombie outbreak?3. What is your favorite ‘guilty pleasure’ movie or TV show?4. If you were a genre of movie, what genre would you be? (not what is your favorite!)5. Team Edward or Team Jacob? (lol)6. Who is your favorite superhero (or supervillain)?7. Do you actively try to earn achievements/trophies in games?8. What was the first video game that really touched you/spoke to you?9. You’re rich and have a mansion - what’s the first luxury you blow a ton of money on?10. How close are you with your family?11. Who is your favorite fictional character?12. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

4. What is your definition of love? - love is… cherishing the little things about someone and being willing to have your life entwined with theirs for as long as the world deems it possible. idk other stuff too…

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would that be? - either back home in Ohio or Australia (Californiaiscooltooiguessbutehh)

6. What is your favorite thing to cook? - CUPCAKESSSSSSSS

7. Are you a religious person or spiritual, or neither? - i am indeed religious :)

8. Favorite TV show? - at the moment, parks and rec… (also i really love teen wolf but shh don’t get me started on that)

9. If you could have one superpower what would it be? - solid tie between shape shifting and teleportation

10. What is a long-term goal you have for yourself? - to get some major traveling done. i have soooo many places i want to see

11. What is your favorite song? - it’s always changing so idk >.<

12. If you had to get a tattoo right now where would it be and what would you get ? :) - it would probably be the initials of my parents and grandparents in the shape of a heart in the top center if my back

4. Top 5 favorite bands: This is easier because I get to pick 5 and I don’t listen to many bands… 1. Celtic Thunder 2. The Beatles 3. NSYNC 4. Rascal Flatts 5. Lady Antebellum

5. Favorite color: Purple!

6. What type of mobile phone do you have if you have one Iphone 3

7. What type of shoes do you wear: Reebok’s sneakers mostly, except I wear flip flops a lot during the summer.

8. Favorite author: J.R.R. Tolkien

9. Top 5 favorite books: (no particular order) 1. The Hobbit 2. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring 3. LOTR: The Two Towers 4.: LOTR: The Return of the King 5. The entire Harry Potter series (sorry if that’s cheating lol )

10. Dogs or cats: Cats. I was absolutely terrified of dogs when I was little and although I got over that fear I still much prefer cats.

11. White milk or chocolate milk: Chocolate milk

12. Martin Freeman or Morgan Freeman: At the moment Martin Freeman because he has the advantage of being involved in my relatively recent loves of the Hobbit movie and Sherlock.

Tagging: doctorinapolicebox because she tagged me and I want her to see my answers, but other than that nobody… I love you guys, I just suck at creating my own questions and I’ve done this sort of thing a few times in the past…